In the production of oil and gas in a region or field, when using the newly developed stimulation techniques, it is desired to fracture multiple wells and oftentimes these fractures must be performed within a designated amount of time. Several costs are associated with this process of fracturing multiple wells located at a single well pad or multiple well pads sequentially in a field. For example, each fracture induced requires not only time for movement and set up of equipment but also incurs monetary costs which may become substantial for a given field. Further, obtaining maximum production from a previously producing oil well may require additional fracturing as the producing well as when damage occurs due to factors such as fine migration in the subterranean formation. Such additional fracture increases the monetary costs associated with production of a field. Also, production time is drawn out as the servicing of each subsequent oil well requires the movement of equipment.
Conventional methods for initiating additional fractures typically induce the additional fractures with near-identical angular orientation to previous fractures. While such methods increase the number of locations for drainage into the wellbore, they are generally not optimal, as they tend to avoid good producing reservoirs. Conventional methods do not introduce new directions for hydrocarbons to flow into the wellbore. The conventional method may also not account for, or even more so, utilize, stress alterations around existing fractures when inducing new fractures in order to connect to previously unattained reservoirs. Further, typical methods rely on the complex movement of equipment and personnel to sequentially service wells.
Thus, a need exists for an improved method for initiating multiple fractures not only in a wellbore but also within a region or field, where the method accounts for tangential forces around a wellbore and within a region or field and the timing of inducing a subsequent fracture as well as providing a central location for the distribution of well treatment fluids for the fracturing of multiple wells.